I’m having issues with a lot of the dystopian YA books out right now. Since the genre took over for sparkly vampires which took over for magical fantasy of the YA de jour there has been numerous novels set sometime in the near to far future. Required elements include an authoritative, controlling government, impossible love because of strict class systems, near or post apocalyptic society. Which is all fine. It’s the same reason we read romance and mystery novels. It’s nice to read a familiar structure, easier to get into the story. But there is one trope I’m ready to see go away, the Chosen One.
It is, as usual, Harry Potter’s fault. Well not totally. The Chosen One is a tale as old as time. Literally. You can trace its origin through ancient mythologies, religious texts and classic literature. No, that alone isn’t the problem. The issue lies when the main character’s position as the Chosen One drives the plot. Harry Potter begins as The Boy Who Lived, a great Chosen One title. But that was the beginning. From there JK Rowling moves Harry through a unique and exciting world where he has to deal with the fallout of being the target of Voldermort’s violence. But she allows Harry to move away from that initial role. He grows, dates girls, makes mistakes, USES ALL CAPS EMO ANGST FOR ALMOST AN ENTIRE BOOK. As the series moves on we’re even given reason to doubt his Chosen One status. Maybe it was supposed to Neville all along. What starts as a choice made external to the character becomes his internal struggle to define who he is and who he wants to become.
Then we moved to paranormal romance which is really where trouble begins. So many of our main characters find themselves going about their lives and then bam! They find out about some latent supernatural abilities, inherited magical artifacts or just have good smelling blood. Yep. Fragrant Type O – (I made this up. I don’t know Bella’s blood type and please, don’t tell me.) What bugs me is how it takes the onus off the main character to make choices that effect their actions and their outcomes.
In a supernatural world that can be forgiven to a certain level. It’s a kind of fantasy finding out you’re not just a lonely orphan but have something extra to elevate your situation. But in dystopian stories, most are working on the premise that events are happening in a real, non fantasy world. So the free pass of being the Chosen One becomes harder to pull off. It’s easy when the defining feature of the dystopian world is a controlling government or society to let the major decisions come from that external source instead of from the characters. The Chosen One has decisions made for her. And it annoys me to no end.
For tomorrow’s homework please come to class with examples of both kinds of Chosen One tropes.
